I read the story of loaves and fishes to the six year old last night. (They ask for Bible bedtime stories sometimes. We have the Scholastic story Bible, and the Veggie Tales Bible, both of which I recommend for reading to small children. The stories are written in very approachable language.)

The loaves and fishes story repeats a common theme, that you start using what you have instead of worrying that it’s not enough. It’s a good lesson for kids, and for writers, too. (Yes, me included.) There were not enough loaves of bread and fish to feed a crowd, but instead of saying “There’s just not enough so it’s pointless”, they used what they had. And miraculously there was enough.

Writing time is like that. It’s easy to say “I don’t have enough time to write so why bother”. But maybe you have five minutes of time, or fifteen minutes. If you use the time you have, you will find that your efforts multiply and accumulate. Words pile up. The time you have really might be enough; you won’t find out if you don’t start using it.